Bhagavad Gita 17.23
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 23 of 28
ॐ तत् सद् इति निर्देशो ब्रह्मणस् त्रिविधः स्मृतः । ब्राह्मणास् तेन वेदाश् च यज्ञाश् च विहिताः पुरा ॥
oṃ tat sad iti nirdeśo brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ | brāhmaṇās tena vedāś ca yajñāś ca vihitāḥ purā ||
OṀ Tat Sat: triple name of Brahman — by which brāhmaṇas, Vedas, and yajñas were ordained in the beginning.
Word by word (3)
- oṃ tat sat iti nirdeśaḥ brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ
- — OM + TAT + SAT — this (iti) is declared (nirdeśaḥ = indication/designation) as the triple (tri-vidhaḥ) designation of Brahman (brahmaṇaḥ), traditionally remembered (smṛtaḥ) — three sacred syllables = three aspects of the One Reality
- brāhmaṇās tena vedāś ca yajñāś ca vihitāḥ purā
- — by that (tena = by that OṀ Tat Sat), the brāhmaṇas (brāhmaṇāḥ), the Vedas (vedāḥ), and yajñas (yajñāḥ) were appointed/constituted (vihitāḥ = ordained) in ancient times (purā = of old, in the beginning) — OṀ Tat Sat is the primordial ground of the entire Vedic order
- tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ
- — triple (tri-vidhaḥ) and traditionally remembered (smṛtaḥ) — not a new teaching but the primordially memorized (smṛti) designation; OṀ Tat Sat is the oldest Vedic seal
OṀ Tat Sat — this is declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By this were brāhmaṇas, Vedas, and yajñas ordained in ancient times.
A modern analogy
OṀ Tat Sat is like the three-word address of the universe. OṀ is how reality sounds, Tat is where reality points (That-ness, the transcendent), and Sat is what reality IS (truth/being). When you prefix any sacred act with OṀ Tat Sat, you are acknowledging that the act comes from, points toward, and IS in the nature of the ultimate Reality.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
"Om, Tat, Sat": this has been taught to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were made of old the Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the Yajnas. [1]
"Om, Tat, Sat": this has been declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were made of old the Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the Yajnas. [4]
"Om, Tat, Sat" — this is said to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were sanctioned in the beginning the Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the Yagnas. [9]
"Om, Tat, Sat" — this is declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By this were the Brahmanas and the Vedas and the Yajnas appointed in the beginning. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
Whatever is sacrificed, given, done, or tapas practiced without śraddhā — that is asat: naught here or hereafter.
Arjuna asks: those who perform yajña with sincere śraddhā but without śāstric ordinance — what guṇa is their state?
Three-fold impulse to action: knowledge, knowable, knower. Three-fold action-structure: organ, act, agent.
Whatever you do, eat, offer, give, or practise as austerity — do it all as mad-arpaṇam, an offering to Me.
Verse 23 of 28 · back to Chapter 17